Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirled Brownies

It’s the season for love and I knew I wanted to make a dessert in honor of Valentine’s Day because I think they are so gosh darn cute.

Whatever it was, it had to be red.

The first time I had that I laid eyes on Red Velvet Brownies, I was in love. I adore red velvet cake and brownies, so whoever invented this concoction is absolutely ingenious. I thank you for this.

For those unfamiliar with Red Velvet Cake, I will attempt to explain this enigma that has taken the world by storm. Many ask…what is it? Is it a vanilla cake dyed red? Is it chocolate since it has a bit in the batter? Nope, it’s none of the above. It just is unlike anything you’ve tasted before. This cake gained the name because the acid in the buttermilk or vinegar reacted with the cocoa in the batter, turning it a dark red. You will find that the typical red velvet cake recipe add red food coloring to take the color up a few notches.

From reading my blog you would never guess that I LOVE baking. For some odd reason I hardly post desserts. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can’t wait long enough to take pictures. Honestly as I was taking photos of these I ate about a quarter of the batch.

Yeah…no…I really shouldn’t have. But I did. And so shall you. Anyway…I will try to add more desserts in the future, so I’m starting with these babies. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies

Adapted from Sunny Anderson

Red Velvet Brownie Layer

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp white vinegar

2 eggs

¾ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Layer

8 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the brownie layer, melt one stick of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from heat, add sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring and vinegar. Stir to combine. Whisk eggs then stir into cocoa mixture. Fold in flour until combine. Stir in walnuts; pour the batter into a greased 8×8 inch baking pan, saving ¼ of the batter for the top.

For the cream cheese layer, blend the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla. Gently spread the cream cheese over the brownie layer. Add spoonfuls on remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a knife or skewer, drag the tip through the batter to create the swirls. Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Please do not over bake these, brownie will appear to be a bit undercooked, but that’s how you end up with a gooey brownie. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.